ethnic pluralism

Ethnic Pluralism

Custom Research by Essay Ethnic Pluralism

Abstract

Given the advanced state of commerce , technology , and communications in the 21st century , people from diverse ethnic backgrounds find themselves interacting with each other more so than perhaps any other time in modern history . Therefore , the issue of ethnic pluralism-the harmonious interaction and merging of divergent cultures (Stournaras , 2005 ) has become critically important . In this essay , the question of what would have to happen in the United States , both individually and institutionally , for a positive form of ethnic pluralism to flourish

in the 21st century will be answered as well as what an individual could contribute to this cause . Upon conclusion of the essay , these issues will have been thoroughly discussed

Ethnic Pluralism in the United States in Perspective

Over the past several decades , political unrest as well as the relaxation of travel restrictions in many nations has led to the immigration , legal and illegal of millions of people into the United States , leading to much controversy due to the many implications of this immigration , including the rights of those who enter the U .S . illegally the process by which they are granted actual citizenship , and the like Indeed , before positive ethnic pluralism can expand in the U .S , the question of the rights of immigrants is a key area to be addressed among others . Within the context of the current situation in the U .S possible scenarios for positive ethnic pluralism can be considered

Suppression of Conflict

In a large sense , much of the cause of discord among various ethnic groups is caused by conflict , meaning that people from different ethnic groups do not understand one another in a variety of ways , which leads to false attitudes about other groups , which fosters mistrust , and ultimately , verbal and /or physical altercations among the ethnicities (Macionis , 2004 . At the risk of sounding glib , conflict must be suppressed in for ethnic pluralism to succeed . One of the most effective ways to foster ethnic pluralism is the advocacy of various forms of assimilation

Assimilation Considered

Cutting away all of the political rhetoric , misconceptions and outright lies about ethnic pluralism , perhaps the best way to promote a positive form of ethnic harmony in the 21st century is to consider the use of a variety of assimilation methods , which are meant to help ethnic groups to peacefully work together for the betterment of society , or in this case , the U .S . as a whole . There are several main types of assimilation that could be useful with this end in mind (Blake , 2003

Cultural Assimilation : This form of assimilation represents perhaps the pinnacle of ethnic pluralism , whereby one ethnic group adopts the language , culture , customs , beliefs and other traits of another group Cultural Assimilation is something that has been advocated by Americans in terms of immigrants embracing American culture , which in itself has been created by a form of assimilation . When ethnic groups share commonalities in this way , much of the